Flying Blind
by Eagle2
Summary: On the run from GC fighters, Co-op pilot Nic Kendall doesn't have a prayer. But someone else is also flying in those unfriendly skies.


"…_and he will command his angels concerning you. They will lift you up in their hands, so you will not strike your foot against a stone_." Psalm 91: 10-11.

Nic Kendall had his hands full. His fully loaded Cessna Citation had barely taken off from a remote airstrip in Michigan with a pallet of medicine when the two Global Community F-16s showed up. They flanked his plane, banking to show off the lethal air-to-air missiles on their wings. Now he had a decision to make.

"_Renegade aircraft, this is Whiskey 2-1, GC Air Command_," a brusque voice growled in his radio headset, "_you are ordered to land immediately or we will shoot you down. Please reply_."

Shaking his head, Nic adjusted his microphone boom near his mouth. "GC Air Command, this is Cessna Sierra Tango nine; that's the lamest pickup line I've ever heard." The GC pilot, his face invisible behind visor and oxygen mask, stared back at him. _He's gotta have a Mark under there; poor bastard._

The blond-haired, green eyed young pilot sighed. Only two years earlier, he would have been in the cockpit of that GC plane. After the Rapture happened, Nicolai Carpathia stepped up and changed the world. At first, Nic found himself listening to every word the man said. He made perfect sense.

"_Sierra Tango Nine, this is your last chance_," the GC pilot snapped, "_we will put you in the dirt if we have to_." He glanced back at the medicines sitting behind him. A Christian cell near Kirkwood, Missouri was fighting a cholera breakout and with no access to medical help they were dropping like flies. Nic was their last hope.

Nic's mind raced. If he landed his plane, the GC would shove him into a guillotine within a day. While he was prepared to die for Christ, he didn't want to die foolishly. But if he refused to land the GC fighters would shoot him down anyway. He tapped his center display screen and it changed to his weather radar. He smiled. _Lord, please tell me I'm nuts for doing this_.

"Sorry, GC, but I've a hot date I'm already late for," Nic radioed, "so catch me if you can." With that he snapped off his radio and shoved his twin throttles all the way forward. He was pressed into his seat as the engines shrieked around him. His stomach tied itself into a tight, painful knot.

A massive supercell thunderstorm loomed like an angry monster dead ahead. Lighting flashed from inside the storm. No pilot in his right mind would fly inside it. "No problem there, haven't been in my right mind for a while now."

"God, please forgive me for putting you to the test," Nic prayed, "think of it as a pop quiz if it makes you feel better." He plunged into the heart of the giant storm. Rain lashed at his windshield and the Citation shuddered around him. Lighting exploded just outside his plane, nearly blinding him. The yoke shook violently in his hands. Nic could barely see the nose of his own aircraft so he flew on instruments. A glance at his radar stunned him. Those two shit-for-brains GC had followed him inside! And they were closing fast.

"Son of a-" The lead F-16 fired two AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles at him. Alarms screamed in his ears. Nic yanked the yoke back as hard as he could and the Cessna clawed for altitude. He stole a glance outside his window just in time to see the 'winder streak into the storm. It missed completely. "But that was a heat-seeker! It can't miss."

A flash of lightning lit up the sky like day. Nic stared. There was _something_ out there, hovering mere feet from his port wing. It looked like a man with huge white wings and golden hair blowing in the wind. As he stared, astonished, the figure turned to look at him, a radiant smile on his face.

"No way!" Nic gasped. It was an angel, he was seeing an angel! This heavenly creature was the one protecting him from the GC fighters' missiles. Nic waved at his guardian. Once a loyal soldier of the Global Community, Nic never gave God a second's thought. But that was until he gave into curiosity and peeked at Tsion Ben-Judah's pirate website. All of his predictions came true and Nicolai Carpathia walked out of his own coffin. That was the final straw for Nic.

Suddenly his stomach dropped like a stone and the yoke was wrenched out of his hands. He fought the controls as his altimeter spun in circles. Nic looked up just in time to see a Sidewinder streak past his windshield. The angel still floated outside. A feeling of peace flooded every inch of his body. Nic relaxed in his pilot's seat, loosened his grip on the yoke. _It's going to be all right, everything is_.

At long last the Cessna flew out of the massive storm. The sky was a bright, happy blue. A quick check of his displays showed no trace of the two F-16s. His own plane appeared to be undamaged and he was still on course for Missouri. Nic tightened his seatbelt and looked around for the angel but his new friend had disappeared.

"Thank you," Nic said to thin air. _First thing I'll do when I reach Heaven is track that guy down_. Sitting up in his seat, the young pilot settled in for the rest of the flight. There was nothing more to worry about. After all, he'd flown on an angel's wings.


End file.
